KUALA LUMPUR (May 16): Malaysia recorded 17 new Covid-19 cases as at noon today, marking the second time since March 12 that new daily cases stood below 20. 

Sixteen new cases were reported earlier this week, on May 12.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also reported one death and 73 recoveries during the 24-hour period till noon today.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the country is 6,872, with active cases at 1,247 or 18.15% of the total, he said at his daily media briefing. 

Of the 17 new cases, six involved Malaysians who returned from overseas, while five were detected among foreigners here.

With the 73 recoveries reported today, a total of 5,512 patients have been discharged so far, accounting for 80.2% of total cases.

As for the death toll, it now stands at 113 or 1.64% of total cases. 

Noor Hisham said the latest patient who succumbed to the virus was a Malaysian woman, aged 53, who was also suffering from fourth stage lung cancer and had a history of hypertension.

One new positive case each among two active Klang Valley clusters
On the Covid-19 clusters here, Dr Noor Hisham said there is one new case among the Kuala Lumpur construction site cluster, bringing total positive cases there to 31. 

The Cheras security guard cluster also recorded one new positive case today, bringing its total to 25. 

There was, however, no new cases involving the Sri Petaling tabligh cluster. To date, 38,708 samples have been taken, with 2,364 positive cases.

Meanwhile, for the tahfiz group, 13,468 samples have been taken from 19,770 identified students, teachers and staff across 370 schools. 

Some 655 individuals, or 4.9% of the tested individuals, tested positive for Covid-19, from which 559 or 85.3% of the positive cases showed no symptoms.  

Meanwhile, the screening involving 350 markets nationwide has identified 36,210 employees and hawkers, of which 28,385 samples have been taken and 258 individuals tested positive. 

Among foreigners, Malaysia has screened 26,000 individuals, where 5% or 1,302 tested positive. On that note, 464 patients are still under treatment, with three in the intensive care unit, while four patients have passed away. 

The Jalan Othman market in Petaling Jaya, which is currently under enhanced movement control order (EMCO), has no new cases on top of the 28 recorded, 21 of which involved foreigners. 

Ministry ends observation in Simpang Renggam cluster
The Ministry of Health has also ended its observation on the Bandar Baru Ibrahim Majid Covid-19 cluster in Simpang Renggam, Johor today, as no new cases were reported in the area for the past 28 days. 

The EMCO in parts of Simpang Renggam was lifted on April 28 after one month of implementation. 

“This cluster involved 193 cases, where four patients passed away,” Noor Hisham said. 

Similarly, the ministry also ended the monitoring period in the Makassar tabligh cluster in Sabah, which involved nine positive cases.

Read also:
Covid-19: Selangor has most cases among children, followed by Negeri Sembilan, Johor
Covid-19 screening conducted on MPs and Parliament staff, no positive cases so far

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